Fun while it lasted...
Having been in almost from the very start (my first game release was about 8 months after WP7launched), WinPhone was a fun little platform to develop for. Yes, in the beginning there was no IAP mechanism, ad fill rates were virtually zero and the support site was up and down more regularly than a manic-depressive kangaroo, but XNA (and later Monogame) were great and ultimately what got me interested in mobile development as a whole.
True, it never got the market share I had hoped might happen in those early days (Microsoft doing their usual thing), and the marketplace has collapsed into a similar cess-pit as Play and the App store (a few titles dominant due to big marketing budgets plus a flood of shiteware), but it still remains the mobile platform I got the most downloads and best return from - and had the most fun developing for.
I got out of making mobile games a few years back - largely due to the aforementioned state of the markets on all platforms - but it was fun while it lasted, and the first platform I've developed for seriously since my Atari ST days. Guess I've always had a soft spot for the underdog... guess that means I should start looking at the Switch for my next development platform...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
